Red Pens are Friends

I recently attended a writing workshop where we discussed various literary topics ranging from genre to storylines to sentence structure. During the break, there was an animated discussion about our favorite pens. The loyalty to specific styles, brands, and colors was astounding. Most people had a particular brand in mind, which varied from a simple Bic pen to the designer Mont Blanc pen. I preferred a middle-of-the-road Pilot G2 Gel Pen Retractable in blue or black ink at the time. Soon enough, a strong minority opinion emerged that leaned toward the Pentel RSVP fine-point pen. These people were so passionate about that particular pen, and I was inspired to try it out.

Long story short, once I felt the smooth writing experience of the new pen, I never went back to the gel version again.

No matter what type of pen you prefer, it’s the ink color that I’d like to discuss. I named my business Red Pen Resources despite several warnings that red pens could carry a negative connotation. I know that people don’t enjoy receiving a document from a teacher, boss, or editor with feedback in the form of tracked changes or red markings. Financially speaking, being “in the red” is not a fortuitous situation. And “seeing red” means that one is suddenly upset or angry. However, I would argue that a red pen is absolutely necessary for creating engaging content.

Stay with me here. 🙂

Blue pens are for your first drafts. Blue indicates a sense of openness and freedom to write whatever comes to mind. It is the perfect color to use when brainstorming and generating new ideas. And those ideas are limitless, so write to your heart’s content or until you run out of ink.

Black pens are for final drafts. It’s more formal and represents a well-thought-out document. Forms and contracts are done in black ink. On-screen typeface and printer paper use black as their default color. These final drafts leave little room for change.

So, what color pen comes in between? Red pens. Red pens build upon first drafts by putting notes in the margins to expand upon ideas by providing more examples and details. Red pens edit documents for grammar, punctuation, and spelling to ensure clarity. Red pens grab our attention and challenge us to enhance the original work.

Finally, red pens come in handy when those final versions need updating or refreshing due to new information, current events, the latest statistics, or more recent examples.

Friends, let’s not be afraid of the red pen. It may look intimidating and alarming initially, but if used creatively, constructively, and kindly, it will help you find your voice, share stories, and achieve goals.

-Elisa